Newcomen, Matthew ( - 1669-09-01)

Newcomen attended the Royal Grammar School in Colchester and proceeded to St John's College, Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1626. He graduated B.A. (1630) and M.A. (1633). In 1632, Newcomen became curate to Thomas Matt in Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk. He became lecturer at Dedham, Essex, in 1636. There he developed a reputation as an excellent Puritan preacher, attracting visitors from abroad to attend his lectures. In 1640, Newcomen married Hannah Raven (d. 1675), Edmund Calamy the younger. He began to spend much time in London during the Long Parliament, often participating in meetings at Calamy's house. During this time, he was one of the collective of authors who published under the pseudonym Smectymnuus, and he continued to enjoy great popularity as a preacher. Newcomen was among the earliest members of the Westminster Assembly, where he favoured the Presbyterian cause but adopted a generally friendly attitude toward the Independents. Newcomen became less involved in politics in the mid-1640s. In 1655, he became lecturer at Ipswich, Suffolk. On Calamy's invitation, Newcomen attended the Savoy Conference in 1661, but he left London abruptly, disappointed in the direction of Church politics. In the same year, he became D.D. Newcomen opposed the Act of Uniformity and was deprived in 1662. Thereafter he moved to Leiden and became at the English church. He became a Dutch citizen and spent the remainder of his life in the Netherlands Newcomen died from plague on 1 September 1669.